New Accord V6 newbie

[Mazda Man]

Hi and welcome to the bestest Accord Coupe Forum on the net.  As you've probably already worked out, we're a friendly bunch and we all own this fabulous USA made coupe.  Don't be afraid to ask anything, we've all been there and you're sure of a swift response.  Oh and we love lots of pics (Photobucket) so get clicking so we can all admire your coupe.

welcome again.  

[kag8]

Thanks for all the pics and bulb recommendations guys! I had already purchased 5w5 501 led bulbs but on installing them today were not nearly as bright as the pics and videos posted. Barely visible in daylight and in the night doesnt fill up the whole sidelight. Can i reuse these bulbs anywhere else and order the ones recommended by you guys? Maybe fit these to the rear number plate bulbs? Sorry cant find a definite bulb guide.

Oh and i just picked up some wheels today [watch this space]. Was a 2 hr round commute, motorway, country roads, start stop town driving. Mix of everything. Was real fun.

But now im sure my transmission isnt doing too good. Felt obvious jerks when downshifting even from 4th to 3rd gear and not so smooth shifts up too.

Im intending to urgently do an atf drain and refill. Had already ordered the large carlubes atf-u fluid but for the second cycle as ill be 350ml short and as suggested by stu - thinking to top up with an atf additive.

 

Have found 2 additives so far on ebay. Silverhook atf and power steering additive OR lucas stop slip. Any of these good? Or other recommendations? 

[Laird_Scooby]

Can you add some pics of those bulbs you bought? Will be useful in recommending something better.

Have you tried wiggling the gear lever when in D4 to see if you can get the D4 lamp to light? That could still be the problem and will cause poor/hard shifting.

Something in the back of my mind says Stu tested the Silverhook one with good results, can't remember it exactly and it may even have been Silverhook PAS fluid so hopefully he'll be along soon and say whether i'm right orhwther my memory is worse than i thought!

[hughezee]

On 22/03/2017 at 11:46 PM, Laird_Scooby said:

Stu tested the Silverhook one with good results, can't remember it exactly and it may even have been Silverhook PAS fluid

Yes it was silverhook power steering fluid and I agree on the D4 bulb being blown buddy, I've replaced loads

On 22/03/2017 at 11:24 PM, kag8 said:

Have found 2 additives so far on ebay. Silverhook atf and power steering additive OR lucas stop slip. Any of these good? Or other recommendations? 

 

The long journey was probably the worse thing you could do to a neglected transmission; I would have changed the fluid first. Also, I don't mean to put the frighteners on you, just speaking from experience with automatics in general not just Honda's. So if your transmission is playing up, even more, I wouldn't attempt a 2.4L part fluid change at this stage and start with incremental fluid changes to avoid shocking the transmission.

Basically get the car at a comfortable height (axle stands) to work under it and drain approximately 1L into a container and its not necessary to completely remove the plug and this will give you more control over how much comes out. Then inspect the condition of the fluid as the thin layer of the gearbox dipstick won't always give an accurate picture of the health of the transmission, refer to the linked topic below if in doubt. Once you've established its condition then either top-up with an additive or straight ATF-U fluid and give it a few sensible miles (20-50) to see how it behaves if no change that could be either good or bad. Anyway proceed to do another 1L fluid change and monitor its progress and if you're resorting to a mechanic to do the job I would recommend putting an additive in there first. I've had great results with Wynn's Automatic Transmission Treatment 325ml and Lucas Oil Transmission Fix 700ml

[AhsyV6]

2 hours ago, kag8 said:

 

Thanks for all the pics and bulb recommendations guys! I had already purchased 5w5 501 led bulbs but on installing them today were not nearly as bright as the pics and videos posted. Barely visible in daylight and in the night doesnt fill up the whole sidelight. Can i reuse these bulbs anywhere else and order the ones recommended by you guys? Maybe fit these to the rear number plate bulbs? Sorry cant find a definite bulb guide.

 

I find that mine aren't that bright at all during the day and I thought they might be like day running lights.....HID LEDs might be they way forward if we want that look. As for the light not filling the whole sidelight....I think there is a piece of plastic inside the strip where the 501 sits that separates The area immediately beneath where the indicator bulb sits. If you zoom into my pic you will see that the light stops as it reaches the indicator area. 

These bulbs won't go into the reg plate bulb holder as they take a festoon bulb. The bulbs that Bill used look interesting. 

[PTR200S]

7 hours ago, kag8 said:

Thanks for all the pics and bulb recommendations guys! I had already purchased 5w5 501 led bulbs but on installing them today were not nearly as bright as the pics and videos posted. Barely visible in daylight and in the night doesnt fill up the whole sidelight. Can i reuse these bulbs anywhere else and order the ones recommended by you guys? Maybe fit these to the rear number plate bulbs? Sorry cant find a definite bulb guide

 

If the 501 lamps you have purchased are not excessively long then try them in the puddle lights in the doors and the map lights.  The central interior light needs a torpedo type, easily obtainable from ebygum ! 

My sidelights don't fill with light to the end either, as Ahsy says seems to be sealed off. 

I think the sidelights suggested by mangoman might be the ones to go for, look like the headlights are on  halfords stuff.

[kag8]

On 3/22/2017 at 11:46 PM, Laird_Scooby said:

 

Can you add some pics of those bulbs you bought? Will be useful in recommending something better.

 

I had got these - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290721805166?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Not very visible and that too blueish. I think i missed the bit where it said for rear number plate bulbs. So woudn't recommend. I'll try take a pic before i swap them out again and probably fit them in the door.

 

On 3/22/2017 at 11:46 PM, Laird_Scooby said:

Have you tried wiggling the gear lever when in D4 to see if you can get the D4 lamp to light? That could still be the problem and will cause poor/hard shifting.

I shall try again but seems unlikely as have driven it quite a few times and changed to D4 several times now, would probably have come on at least once by now.

 

On 3/23/2017 at 0:38 AM, hughezee said:

The long journey was probably the worse thing you could do to a neglected transmission

:'(

Was just too excited and had to put an end to searching for wheels, I was obsessed, searching day and night. lol. I hope I have not done too much harm. It has been driven for 116k miles on the same fluid, I hope my first 100miles wouldnt be what kills the transmission!

On 3/23/2017 at 0:38 AM, hughezee said:

if you're resorting to a mechanic to do the job I would recommend putting an additive in there first

Thanks for all the tips. I need to explain it all to the mechanic once all the fluids arrive. I chose the Lucas additive, silly question - but they claim "Can be added to existing fluid without draining any out" - how can that be? Shall I just top up with some of the additive when it arrives and hope for the best? Full 700ml bottle or half?

[hughezee]

18 hours ago, kag8 said:

On 22/03/2017 at 11:46 PM, Laird_Scooby said:

Have you tried wiggling the gear lever when in D4 to see if you can get the D4 lamp to light? That could still be the problem and will cause poor/hard shifting.

I shall try again but seems unlikely as have driven it quite a few times and changed to D4 several times now, would probably have come on at least once by now.

 

False exercise wiggling the selector, the switch is actually located on the transmission itself, it's just the bulb in the instrument cluster "Blown" like in the video Bill linked but here's my video on just removing the cluster if you don't understand American

 

[hughezee]

18 hours ago, kag8 said:

On 23/03/2017 at 0:38 AM, hughezee said:

The long journey was probably the worse thing you could do to a neglected transmission

:'(

Was just too excited and had to put an end to searching for wheels, I was obsessed, searching day and night. lol. I hope I have not done too much harm. It has been driven for 116k miles on the same fluid, I hope my first 100miles wouldnt be what kills the transmission!

On 23/03/2017 at 0:38 AM, hughezee said:

if you're resorting to a mechanic to do the job I would recommend putting an additive in there first

Thanks for all the tips. I need to explain it all to the mechanic once all the fluids arrive. I chose the Lucas additive, silly question - but they claim "Can be added to existing fluid without draining any out" - how can that be? Shall I just top up with some of the additive when it arrives and hope for the best? Full 700ml bottle or half?

 

 

The Lucas additive is very thick almost like treacle it and will raise the fluid level but shouldn't do any short term damage as it the additive prevents foaming anyway. Although I would try some fresh fluid first as the additive will be more effective, bottom line is which is easier for you atm.

[Laird_Scooby]

They moved the switch on later cars then Stu?

[hughezee]

1 minute ago, Laird_Scooby said:

They moved the switch on later cars then Stu?

Yes for the majority of Honda's from 1996 > to present day buddy

[Laird_Scooby]

3 minutes ago, hughezee said:

Yes for the majority of Honda's from 1996 > to present day buddy

Ah i see - 95/96 is the newest i've owned so far and never needed to investigate any others. Presumably the newer switches are more reliable?

[hughezee]

20 minutes ago, Laird_Scooby said:

Presumably the newer switches are more reliable?

Difficult to say on Honda's as I've only ever replaced damaged ones, but on other manufacturers, they are a common complaint regardless of what level of water or rocks your aiming for

[Laird_Scooby]

That kind of says yes then really in as much as if you've only replaced damaged ones, the intact ones are (in theory at least) still working ok.

Maybe once they get a bit older the post 96 ones will start to show problems but until then it's probably reasonably safe to assume they are more reliable.

[Laird_Scooby]

Regarding LED headlamp bulbs, i just found these on Amazon :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012NA51QC?ref_=pe_747761_41185591

THey should give the right beam pattern but more importantly, if space is tight behind the lights, these have a braided heatsink which can be folded/moulded to shape to give the cooling in the available space rather than having the fan assembly hung on the back of the bulb.

[Brett]

2 minutes ago, Laird_Scooby said:

Regarding LED headlamp bulbs, i just found these on Amazon :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012NA51QC?ref_=pe_747761_41185591

THey should give the right beam pattern but more importantly, if space is tight behind the lights, these have a braided heatsink which can be folded/moulded to shape to give the cooling in the available space rather than having the fan assembly hung on the back of the bulb.

Dave Iv been toying with led headlights for a wile now.

Horizon leds are now doing Philips H1 for my car but are £120 

[Laird_Scooby]

That's a lof of money Brett! I thought i was slightly mad paying £72 for H4s for mine but i'd tried most of the other (cheaper) ones with bad results so it was a case of "pay up and look big". I'm glad i did though, they're well worth it Brett!

I think the same seller has H1s, might be worth a look?

[Brett]

Will have a look Dave but on mine 99% of H1 leds will not fit as there is limited space behind the screw cover.

The ones with fans on are a no no so would have to be the heat reducing copper ones.

Also to fit on the 8th gen the easiest way is mad I no but to take the bumper off and lights out.

I did this when fitting my hid,s much easier.

[Laird_Scooby]

Lucky it's not a Smartcar - the whole front has to come off!

[Brett]

Honda charge around £50 for a headlight change on the 8th gen 

Its a good job I'm not scared to take the bumpers off.

I think Holfords have crossed my car off there list for free lamp changes.

[Laird_Scooby]

I think Halfrauds have stopped free bulb changes now, last i knew (about a year ago) it was a flat £6.99 fitting fee for headlamp bulbs. I did ask if there was a surcharge for Smart Cars, Volvo XC70/90 models and similar where the front ends had to come off to change the bulbs but apprently not.

[kag8]

On 16/03/2017 at 2:25 PM, Mangoman said:

Hi Dave.

Sadly they have frames... ?

Just imagine if they were Pillarless...!!!!  Would give me a hard-on....lol.

 

@PTR200S

@Laird_Scooby

It was neither of you after all!